>> and now, bbc world news america. >> this is bbc world news america. aseral patras' steps down the cia director after admitting to an extramarital affair, sending shock waves through washington. and on the political front, it is back to business. can the parties to strike a deal to reverse the looming economic difficulties? a new teen-age magician in town is making quite a market in south africa. welcome to our viewers on public television in america and around the globe.

it was a rather unexpected resignation. a short time ago, general david is stepping down as cia director. president obama accepted the resignation of the retired four- star general. he praised his outstanding service. michael, how much of a shock was this? >> it was pretty much a surprise, the general, as far as i know, was very well-thought of at the agency. certainly a defender of the agency and several weeks ago, he made it very clear after the attack that no one at the agency prevented assistance going to the man going under attack.

it was the white house -- >> the resignation comes just ahead of hearing about been gauzy. >> it is a very peculiar thing, he was scheduled to testify under oath next thursday, with other people from the intelligence community about exactly why no assistance was sent to those people, even though we watched and listened to the attack for seven hours. >> how pivotal of figure was he? >> i think he was an important figure not only in the administration but for the country and our allies. he and his predecessor are not willing to say the obama administration is lying about the lack of danger from militant islam. killing osama bin laden,

the president plays it down consistently. the general would not do that. the president will probably try to find a yes man to send over to the agency so he has one less thing to worry about as he promotes the narrative of increasingly peaceful relations with the muslim world. the ideal contender from the president's viewpoint is john brennan that has followed lockstep with the deceit that mr. obama has hoisted about the american people from the threat of islamic militants have spectacularly misled americans early in the first administration when he said the word jihad to do with military affairs, which is a blatant lie. i think he would be the perfect

person for obama, but he was disliked at the agency as an individual. >> how important is the man at the top? >> he is very important if he is serious about the business we do. the agency, increasingly, has bet the forefront of american activity overseas. we are doing things that really belong to the military. we make mistakes, all agencies make mistakes. but under the general, javier own doctor problems that we had and they were also very clear that they were going to stand by the work force. and certainly if he happened to be the nominee, it would be difficult for the agency. >> a concern of yours, i can see. before the newsbreak today, the

biggest talk in town was about the economy. president obama and the republican speaker made their views known on the upcoming fiscal cleiff approaches. both men agreed on the urgency to act. the devil is in the details. >> ladies and gentlemen, that the president and the vice- president of the united states. >> del left the supporters fool you, he knows there is no honeymoon the second time around. he is straight into a living and economic crisis in demanding compromise from politicians. dodge the american people understand we will have differences in disagreements in the months to come. they get back. but on tuesday, they said loud and clear that they won't tolerate this function for politicians that view compromise as a dirty word when americans

are out of work, families and small business owners are still struggling to pay the bills. >> automatic tax rises and cuts to government spending could take more than $600 billion out of the economy, leading to 2.1 million jobs lost shrinking by half a percent sign. such a prospect has spooked global markets. riding high on re-election euphoria, democrats claim a popular mandate, he insists on higher tax rates from the wealthiest americans. the republicans know the president can't get much done without them and they say they will be led by him, but their position is firm. >> the number one issue was

about the economy and jobs. everybody wants to get the economy moving again and americans back to work. raising tax rates will slow down our ability to create the jobs that everyone says they want. >> a few days after the election, both parties are stressing that they are willing to work together on the urgent issue of the fiscal cliff. they don't want to be seen playing politics when bar are very real question is for america. can they put their differences behind them? after the rock motions of this week when president obama thank his campaign team -- >> i am really proud of all of you. >> it applied to congress as well. >> of the assistant managing editor of time, the latest

issues devoted to the aftermath of the campaign. i spoke a brief time about the importance of the high stakes. >> it is really taxes on the rich. president obama has said in no uncertain terms that he once the richest americans to pay more taxes. unsurprisingly, conservatives are saying yes, there is room for movement, but we don't want the rich to pay more taxes. if the problem is, even though taxes and make up only about $50 billion of $600 billion, both sides have said that if they can't get their way, they're going to let the bush tax cuts expire, and that is half of the fiscal clef right there. >> everyone is talking about

compromise. >> we are at the alleged. we have been talking about compromise for over the last year, but in this patch year, the federal reserve was able to buffer the impact by pumping money into the economy and they are out of ammunition. both sides in washington know that. that is why you have seen some conciliatory statements. unfortunately, we have got to get over this fundamental issue of if the americans in need to pick up more of the budgetary tab. interestingly, it has already happened. you saw a little bit of a market rally during the election and them that president obama was reelected, the markets were down, the biggest drop and over one year. we have six weeks of very jittery markets coming out.

i think that if we go full force over the cliff, it can be very bad for markets. >> what about the u.s. economy? dodge the congressional budgetary office says that if we go over in its entirety, $600 billion worth of tax increases and spending cuts, there is no doubt we will go into recession. if it is half a year or the entire year, it will depend on the rest of the world. europe is still in trouble, and emerging markets are slowing and that makes it all the more important washington get their act together. >> can the president pull anything out of the hat? >> he needs to pull something surprising. one of the things in the run-up to the election that was a case to be made for governor romney, investors thought he might be able to shop congress, surprised

the situation back into alignment. the president has to bring both sides together and have talked going to an off site meeting somewhere and having a more bipartisan cabinet collected in order to bring unity. but he has to do something surprising. >> this is a self-inflicted wound, isn't it? >> absolutely. the compromises that we made to raise the debt ceiling over a year ago, they are coming back to haunt us. congress knew when these measures were passed that there would be a day of reckoning and it is here. dodge the u.s. isn't the only country dealing with economic challenges, china's financial growth is the envy of the world. the outgoing leaders have warned that unless the challenge of corruption is addressed, the consequences could be dire. the party is considering to

declare all their financial assets in response to public outrage. >> from outside, it looks solid as a rock. inside, the czech communist party might be corroding. the absolute power over 1 billion people, riddled with corruption. >> we have elevated the fight against corruption to a life- and-death issue for the party. we believe we can control it. >> spy on party members using web cameras and getting them to study to make them more virtuous. what has pushed the issue is the downfall of a contender for the party's new leadership, accused of massive corruption and arrested after his wife admitted killing the british businessmen neil hayward.

under the outgoing leaders, it has grown 10 times. the internet is giving people a tool to scrutinize the party. an outlet to express their anger. >> dismissed as the local official after internet users scrutinized pictures of them. he had nine different luxury watches many times his annual salary. ordinary chinese are increasingly outraged. this demonstration against a land-grabbing officials was posted on the anti-corruption website. >> it used to be individuals were corrupt, ballot as whole groups of officials.

the system is crippled and nobody is accountable. >> most damaging is the extraordinary wealth that has been amassed by their own families. legitimate, maybe, but it is embarrassing. the party's new leader will be installed, and his relatives riches estimated at 200 million pounds. believed to have over 1.5 billion pounds of assets. >> you cannot have a country run by a massive kleptocracy. >> that they might be coming closer. >> a train crashed in central

burma and killed 27 people. burmese officers say the train came off the rails have as it is traveling to the north. many of those killed were local residents that gathered at the scene. you're watching bbc world news america, a courageous fight made her a target. tens of thousands are urging peace for the young girl. one of syria's main opposition groups, the national council has elected a new leader. he vowed to work with others to accelerate the fall of what he calls a criminal regime. united nations says a 11,000 refugees have fled syria in 24 hours. >> aid agencies are warning it could be a catastrophe in syria.

in the last few hours, the numbers fleeing have increased dramatically. >> in the last 24 hours alone, we have received 11,000 refugees have fled to neighboring countries. this is the highest number we have received so far, and it is one of the highest we have had for quite some time. >> 2.5 million people need aid, but many are receiving nothing. the relief operation is hampered by violence, a lack of funds and a lack of staff. the conflict is spreading. the u.s. expects the numbers to rise to 4 million by the start of next year. >> the solution is in the hands of politicians. they exclusively are of a

political nature. >> agencies are stressing they can't be the answer for people to receive any genuine relief. the fighting has to stop. for now, that looks unlikely. >> remember, you can find more on that and the days latest news on the bbc news website. the nobel peace prize is not decided by online editions, but if it was, she would be among the top runners. tens of thousands have come out in support of the pakistan a teenager shot in the head last month, targeted because she was campaigning for the ride of girls to get an education. she is recovering at a hospital in england.

>> just one month after leaving her for dead, she is sitting out and reading get well cards. from her hospital room, and her father sent her thanks to supporters worldwide. >> she is recovering well and wants me to tell you she has been inspired and humbled by the thousands of cards, messages, and gifts that she has received. it has helped my daughter stays strong. >> others are drawing strength. in this school, the un special envoy for education got a lesson. >> she was very brave and had to stand up to people intimidating her. >> we fight for her rights even

though there was lots of danger. it was brave, she gave us an example. >> of the girls have big dreams, and when they grow up, many want to be just like her. dr. gordon brown is hearing about the ambitions people have, many girls never see the inside of the classroom. she risked her life to campaign for girls' education and the united nations is going to carry on that fight. she pledged to campaign for them just before she was shot.

>> simply for going to school, wanting to go to school, it is so unspeakable. >> they raise their voices in her honor, a nobel peace prize. the courageous teenager would be a worthy recipient. for more of the global attention her case has drawn, i spoke to the founder of women for women international that joined us from new york. the effect taking place in pakistan, is it possible something positive could come out of her plight? >> i would hope so. she is a representation of the plight of many girls. not only pakistan, but all over the world. a girl is very articulate, clear about what she wants, and within the frame of her culture and

religion, is still targeted for assassination for speaking up and wanting to go to school. it triggered something that the terrorists pushed their limit here. an emotional thing that people have been feeling, and she did trigger a larger movement. >> how likely is it that the government will take them on and promote girls' education? >> i think it is likely and very important. this is a story where it is not a cultural issue. she comes from a humble background, her father is the principal and is very committed to his daughter's education. she obviously has freedom of speech within her family and the context of her society. what happened is a representation of a larger war

that is happening. the war is happening on the likes of women and on the status of women, so this is not necessarily a woman's education issue, it is a larger discussion that is happening in critical for all to pay attention and be involved in. the political issue in terms of the fundamentalists, is good for pakistan to be honest. >> to another teenager that has overcome the odds, using magic. audiences captivated by optical illusions, the magic show at the age of 10 which left him hawk. he is mastering the art, and people have gone to meet him.

>> it was his lifelong dream to escape poverty. with tricks up his sleeve, he found the magic to do it. this 19-year-old magician has won several competitions at travel the world representing south africa. the only breadwinner in a family of eight. >> where i come from, there is a lot of poverty, fighting, unemployment. it took me apart from everything. >> the college of magic and the average program designed to introduce youngsters to magic posted a show some years ago. the experience sparked the imagination. >> i remember using some golf balls as well as a tennis balls.

>> welcome to my magic show. >> in some communities, magic is associated with witchcraft and superstition, making it difficult for audiences to overcome the stigma. >> at my church, it was hard for them to believe in it, so i had to show them some of the secrets. this is not real, this is something that you practice. >> he hopes to empower other youngsters by introducing them to the art of magic. programbrings today's to a close. you can reach me and most of the team on twitter. from all of us here, thank you for watching.

>> make sense of international news at bbc.com/news. >> funding for this presentation is made possible by the freeman foundation of new york, stowe, vermont, and honolulu. newman's own foundation. and union bank. >> at union bank, our relationship managers use their expertise in global finance to guide you through the business strategies and opportunities of international commerce. we put our extended global network to work for a wide range of companies, from small businesses to major corporations. what can we do for you?

>> "bbc world news" was presented by kcet los angeles. presented by kcet los angeles.

hi, neighbour! you're invited to a tea party at katerina kittycat's house! then we're going to play with o the owl. he has lots of books.

this is going to be tiger-tastic. be right back! is made possible in part by... the richard king mellon foundation. dedicated for over sixty years to south western pennsylvania's quality of life, and competitive future. and by these pittsburg foundations. working together to enhance and enrich the lives of children for more than seventy-five years. and by the arthur vining davis foundations. dedicated to strengthening america's future through education. adcasting, dedicated to strengthening america's future and contributions to your pbs station, from viewers like you. in the neighbourhood ♪ and contributions to your pbs station, ♪ a beautiful day for a neighbour ♪ ♪ would you be mine? ♪ could you be mine? ♪ won't you be my neighbour?

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